Best black pudding? (ideally available in Oxfordshire)

[13aines]

Hi all, I am looking to buy some top notch black pudding for a black pudding lover who's terribly hard to buy for for Christmas.

What's the best? Ideally looking for something special, and ideally available in Oxfordshire.

I have found MacLeod and MacLeod ‘Original’ Stornoway Black Pudding online, which seems to be highly rated, but wince at paying £17 with delivery for just over a kilo of black pudding!

Thanks,

Matt

[thebraketester]

http://www.buryblackpuddings.co.uk

But cheaper and arguably the best.

[sinbaddio]

thebraketester said:

http://www.buryblackpuddings.co.uk

But cheaper and arguably the best.

Definitely this. I used to go to Bury market as a kid to get their black pud

[Europa1]

OP, Clonakilty is pretty good, I think Ocado stock it.

[theplayingmantis]

People recommending Bury, but the slices you can by in the supermarket, that are bury, are nothing special ime.

same with clonakilty, better but not great.

ive found own brand better than those 2, but i guess it all depends how you cook it ( i always grill on rack so doing it wrong probably) as i always prefer it when at restaurant, ideally with scallops!

i'd aim a bit higher than what you can easily get in the supermarkets.

Rick stein food heroes episode he went to the 'real Lancashire black pudding company' so assume thats good (he tried straight after cooking, would like to try that) and he has mentioned Charlie Barley's Stornoway Black Pudding before, so again assume a cut above.


edit i missed you mentioned the stornaway one in your OP. i cant remember seeing the 2 stein recommends in the supermarkets (nationally at least) so if me would tend to go for them as a gift. although Ive never tried them!

Edited by theplayingmantis on Wednesday 12th December 12:48

[rsbmw]

English stuff is garbage, including Bury

Once you have tried the original Stornoway stuff from Macleod & Macleod (not Charles Macleod) you wont look back.

Delivered to your doorstep for about £15 a 1.4kg stick

http://www.macleodandmacleod.co.uk/

Edit, should have read the full OP which mentions this already, just checked and it's £13.40 delivered, bargain if you ask me!

[anonymous-user]

I recommend Simon Howie's The Wee Black Pudding, definitely available in Sainsburys, small sized with a really oat-y texture, lovely spice and no large lumps of fat. Also, it's a beef base, so a more palatable flavour.

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/ser...

I am originally from t'north and love black pudding but I am sorry to say I think the packaged Bury stuff and the Irish stuff is cheap and nasty.

[Cotty]

thebraketester said:

http://www.buryblackpuddings.co.uk

But cheaper and arguably the best.

I like black pudding but I don't like Bury's version.

[13aines]

Thanks everyone!

My title was perhaps misleading - it needs to be a bit special as a gift. Ironically best and special may not be the same thing! One thing is for sure, everyone has different taste when it comes to black pudding.

I was going for Chadwicks from Bury but can't get a delivery until Jan.

Thanks rsbmw, I was looking at Charlie's - if Macleod & Macleod are cheaper and better, it's a winner.

It's now between The Real Lancashire (he's a Lancashire lad) or Macleod & Macleod.

I'm going to try a few of the readily available ones mentioned here myself.

[sgrimshaw]

JIMMYJ4ZZ said:

I recommend Simon Howie's The Wee Black Pudding, definitely available in Sainsburys, small sized with a really oat-y texture, lovely spice and no large lumps of fat. Also, it's a beef base, so a more palatable flavour.

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/ser...

I am originally from t'north and love black pudding but I am sorry to say I think the packaged Bury stuff and the Irish stuff is cheap and nasty.

Only half decent one let in the supermarkets, in my opinion, is the one on Tesco's deli.

I'll eat others, including the Bury slices, but not that Simon Howie one it's dreadful. Black pudding should be made from pig's blood .... not cow's.

[sly fox]

Gabriel Machin in Henley stock a fantastic Black pudding their shop.

Pretty sure it is Ramsay's of Carluke. Fabulous, not fatty at all, takes 2-3 minutes to cook at most.

[FerdiZ28]

JIMMYJ4ZZ said:

I recommend Simon Howie's The Wee Black Pudding, definitely available in Sainsburys, small sized with a really oat-y texture, lovely spice and no large lumps of fat. Also, it's a beef base, so a more palatable flavour.

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/ser...

I am originally from t'north and love black pudding but I am sorry to say I think the packaged Bury stuff and the Irish stuff is cheap and nasty.

Any pictures of the missus you’d like to share?

[Turn7]

JIMMYJ4ZZ said:

I recommend Simon Howie's The Wee Black Pudding, definitely available in Sainsburys, small sized with a really oat-y texture, lovely spice and no large lumps of fat. Also, it's a beef base, so a more palatable flavour.

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/ser...

I am originally from t'north and love black pudding but I am sorry to say I think the packaged Bury stuff and the Irish stuff is cheap and nasty.

Seconded, and also in Tescos.....

[vsonix]

My main cooking buddy and I looked into making our own black pudding a while back and the first thing was 'where do we get pig's blood from'?
Turns out that the rules and regs regarding blood and the use thereof are very strict.
You're only allowed to use fresh blood if the animals have been killed on the same farm/premises as the blood product is being made.
Everyone else has to purchase powdered dried blood from the same one or two sources, iirc either the Netherlands or Denmark. Even blood collected in the UK has to be sent to these locations for processing. Apparently this is the reason why most commercially available/mass produced black puddings are all fairly bland and much of a muchness.
In the end we ordered a kilo of dried pigs blood from the Netherlands and used that. Reconstituting it was an odd experience. Putting the final mix into sheep intestines to poach was even odder.
The black puddings came out pretty good; we did a rosemary infused and a juniper infused one, and cold smoked them also. But also no massive hurry to repeat the experiment unless we can get our hands on actual fresh blood, I think.

[bigmowley]

Utterly sublime. Been a very happy consumer for 50 odd years. Simply the best.
http://www.reallancashireblackpuddings.co.uk/black...
Yum yum

[13aines]

I went for Macleod & Macleod, thanks for the link rsbmw. I ordered a half roll for myself as well because it would have been rude not to!

Next time it'll be Real Lancashire.

I'll be trying some of the more readily available ones mentioned here myself.

[hacksaw]

https://www.fruitpig.co.uk/default

This.

[rsbmw]

13aines said:

I went for Macleod & Macleod, thanks for the link rsbmw. I ordered a half roll for myself as well because it would have been rude not to!

Next time it'll be Real Lancashire.

I'll be trying some of the more readily available ones mentioned here myself.

If that doesn't turn you into a black pudding snob, I'll be surprised. Report back.

[rsbmw]

bigmowley said:

Utterly sublime. Been a very happy consumer for 50 odd years. Simply the best.
http://www.reallancashireblackpuddings.co.uk/black...
Yum yum

Huge white lumps of inedible fat,no thanks!

[Cotty]

rsbmw said:

bigmowley said:

Utterly sublime. Been a very happy consumer for 50 odd years. Simply the best.
http://www.reallancashireblackpuddings.co.uk/black...
Yum yum

Huge white lumps of inedible fat,no thanks!

I like it like that.

What I don't like is them making a "Vegan Black Pudding", if its vegan it can't be black pudding.